BLANTYRE-(MaraviPost)—Suspended Malawi National Examinations Board Executive Director Gerald Chiunda together with Ishmael Faki, chief examination development officer, Joseph Chilombe, chief examination officer, and Owen Kutho, head of security have been charged with negligence in their management of the leaked and cancelled 2020 Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examinations.
The four were arrested on Tuesday.
According to Malawi Police Service national spokesperson, James Kadadzera, Maneb Act (1987) mandates the board to take charge of the process if localizing the development and administration of national examinations.
Kadadzera said the four, who are currently being held at Zomba Police Station, have been charged for allegedly failing to exercise due care in relation to the safety of national examination materials and that they failed to take reasonable steps for the security of national examination materials in accordance with the Maneb Act.
“Their arrestsfollows findings of police investigations into the matter,” said Kadadzera.
While confirming his arrest on Tuesday, Chiunda said was surprised with the development as the courts granted him an injunction and directed that a judicial review be conducted on the issue to do with management of 2020 Malawi School Certificate of Education examinations.
“Since they are the police, I obeyed. But it’s the same case where the court granted us an injunction and ordered a judicial review,” Chiunda said.
Chiunda, who together with six other senior officials appeared before Parliamentary Committee first week of January, accused the board of not hearing their side since his suspension in November last year.
Speaking before the committee, Chiunda said the Maneb board had not given the suspended officials to hear their side on the leaked 2020 Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examinations from the day they were suspended.
Chiunda told the committee that it was unfair to punish him and the other six officials when Austin Miyuna, the person who claimed to have played a role in the leakage, had not been questioned.
According to Chiunda, Miyuna who works as a security guard at Maneb, could not have worked alone bearing in mind the security procedure at the institution.
“It is frustrating because the suspect was arrested by police. He was taken through court and is on court bail. But what I was saying is that, look at the office practice, this person should have been taken through the administrative process at the office so that he should be asked further. Otherwise, the system will not have an opportunity to draw lessons for future,” said Chiunda.
He also told the committee that file footage was available to check how the security system was breached because there were 20 working CCTVs, which was contrary to the board’s chair assertions that there were no working CCTVs.
The 2020 MSCE examinations were cancelled in November following a leakage of some papers, and was re-administered from 5– 29 January under heavy security.